Closer
by Tsubasa8
Summary: KagomeSango (shoujo-ai) - Takes place right after "Kisu." A group of youkai called the Metal Brothers are on the lookout for women to claim as their own - and guess who a couple of them are interested in... [COMPLETE]
1. Chapter 1

Me: People seemed to have liked my KagomeSango shoujo-ai fic "Kisu," so I decided to write a sequel. Have fun!

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

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Chapter 1

"Mm..." Kagome slowly opened her eyes as she awakened from her slumber. She checked her watch to see what the time was; finding that only about forty-five minutes had passed. She was planning to rest for one full hour, but didn't feel at all that tired now. Kagome looked beside her, Sango still peacefully sleeping. Kagome smiled warmly at her, and pushed Sango's bangs back gently. 'It's odd how people can look so beautiful when they sleep,' she thought happily.

Deciding not to wake her up just yet, Kagome got up and went over to her bag to look for a towel. She brought it out, when something that was wrapped up inside it fell to the floor. Kagome saw that it was a tube of lipstick. "Eh? How did that get there?" She picked it up and examined it closely. "Hmm..." She looked over at Sango, when a small trace of a playful smirk crossed her face.

- - -

Inuyasha was outside with Shippo and Miroku, who was sighing heavily at being dragged out of the house at the most inopportune time.

"Miroku, knock it off!" Inuyasha said annoyed, but Miroku just sighed again.

Kagome came out of the house with a towel in hand.

"Oh, Kagome-sama!" Miroku lit up. "You're awake!"

"Yeah, I'm just going down to the river to wash my face," she told him. "Sango's still asleep though, so don't wake her up."

"Okay!" Miroku grinned. He watched as Kagome walked away, making sure she was ahead a good distance before leaping up to go inside.

"Miroku!" Inuyasha scolded with an angry look. "Where do you think you're going!? Kagome said not to go in!" It was futile however, as Miroku insisted on intruding.

When he got inside, he found that Sango was sitting up, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. But... there was something else quite different about her appearance... it was both a slight shock yet source of amusement for Miroku.

"Uh..." Miroku stared at her.

"Hm?" Sango looked up at him. "What is it?"

"You... um..." Miroku tried his best to keep a straight face.

Sango brought her hand down. "What?"

The monk wondered how to word this. "Has... er... anything been going on in here?"

"What are you talking about?" she frowned.

Miroku scanned the floor, looking for something. He spotted a mirror, and held up in front of Sango. She looked back at her reflection, taken aback by what she saw. All over her body were red lip marks. "What the - ?" The sound of soft laughter attracted the two's attention. Kagome was leaning on the windowsill, an arm propping up her face.

"That was fun," Kagome giggled. She waved her tube of lipstick in front of her.

Sango flushed as she realized that Kagome had kissed her all over. "Kagome-chan!"

Kagome walked around to the doorway and passed through it, a smile spread across her face. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Probably a bit warmer now," Miroku smirked, when Sango responded with a kick. "Ow! Er... she must be feeling better if she's stopped throwing things..."

Kagome sat down and picked up a damp towel, beginning to wipe the marks off of Sango. She glanced at Miroku. "Miroku-sama, I thought I said not to come in."

"Well yes, but I wanted to keep Sango company in case she woke up while you were away – which she did."

'Somehow I doubt that,' both Kagome and Sango thought.

"Anyways, I got to see quite an amusing sight because of it," he grinned brightly. He noticed Sango running her hand across the ground, apparently looking for something to strike him with again. "Ah, seeing as how everything seems to be fine now, I'll be going back outside," he quickly said as he got up and left the room.

Sango sighed in aggravation. "Houshi-sama sure seems to be getting a lot more perverted than usual..." she frowned.

"Mm..." Kagome didn't respond to that. Instead she leaned her face next to Sango's shoulder, weaving her arm around Sango's own. "So warm..." Sango started, a shade of red creeping over her face. Kagome looked up and saw Sango staring straight ahead, as if to avoid her gaze. She sat up and stared at her, Sango taking notice.

"What is it?" Sango asked Kagome.

Waiting a couple of seconds, Kagome responded. "Nothing..." She got up and went to get her bag, tossing in a couple of her belongings. "I need to go back to write a test tomorrow," she began telling the other girl. "So I probably won't be back for a day or so."

"A day or so?" Sango repeated with a hint of appall in her tone.

Kagome looked back at her with a smile. "Are you going to miss me?"

"Uh..." Sango shifted around.

Kagome went over to Sango and got on her hands and knees beside her. "I'll be back." She lightly placed as kiss on her cheek before grabbing her bag. "See you later," she said before leaving.

"Mm..." Sango nodded.

"Hrm?" Inuyasha and the others looked up as they saw Kagome emerge from Kaede's home. "Where are you going?"

"I need to go back to write a test," she informed them. "I'll come back as soon as I can."

"Fine," Inuyasha replied as he closed his eyes.

"Can you look after Sango-chan while I'm gone?"

"It would be my pleasure," Miroku grinned.

Kagome paused before turning to Inuyasha and Shippo. "Keep an eye on you-know-who," she whispered to them.

"Huh?" Miroku blinked.

"Mm!" Shippo nodded his head firmly. "Do your best Kagome!"

"I'll try," she answered the young kitsune with a smile. She waved goodbye to her friends as she once again left for her own time.

Unbeknownst to her however, a youkai who looked like a human was watching the young girl's every move.

"Hmm... yes, an excellent bride she shall make..." the youkai smirked before disappearing.

- - -

The days passed, and Sango was now able to get out of bed and walk around, though she stuck closely to the village as Miroku and Shippo advised her. Today was the day Kagome was expected to return to the Sengoku Jidai, Inuyasha sitting atop Kaede's roof while the others waited on the verandah.

Kagome clambered out of the well, looking forward to seeing her Sengoku Jidai friends again. To her surprise however, someone else was expecting her. The youkai who was spying on her before grabbed Kagome from behind, but didn't stop her in time from shouting for help.

Inuyasha's ears twitched as he heard the familiar voice. "Kagome!" he said urgently. "She's in trouble – I'm going to go get her!" Inuyasha retorted just before he scampered off towards the well.

The others were prepared to follow after him, but Miroku grasped Sango's wrist as she stood up.

Sango looked back at him with inquiry. "Houshi-sama?"

"Sango," Miroku started. "You stay here with Shippo. You're not fully recovered from your wounds yet."

"But - "

"Inuyasha, Kirara, and I should be enough to handle this youkai." He let go of her. "I'm sure Kagome-sama wouldn't want you risking it either." Seeing as how she didn't respond to this, Miroku took it as her approval. "Come on, Kirara." He motioned for the cat youkai who followed behind the monk.

Inuyasha got to the scene, just before the youkai was about to run off with Kagome.

"Hey, just what do you think you're doing?" He breathed heavily at the captor.

The youkai appeared to be human, wearing armour and robes of red and purple, his dark shoulder-length hair tied into a neat ponytail. This youkai was most definitely not a human however.

"Humph. Taking my lovely bride back home with me is all," he sneered.

"I don't think so!" Inuyasha retaliated, wielding Tessaiga at his side.

"Oh, don't tell me she's yours," the youkai continued to jeer. "Is the little hanyou in love with the human?"

Inuyasha's expression grew ferocious. "Like I'd hand her over to scum like you!" He charged at the youkai, but stopped as soon as he saw a blade shoot up from its arm, aimed at Kagome's neck.

"Ah, ah, ah... don't be so hasty." The youkai narrowed his eyes. "As much as I like this girl, I could easily find another one – stripping her of her Shikon shards beforehand of course."

Inuyasha growled at this youkai's impertinence. "You lousy..." he started, just when something whizzed past him.

"What?" The youkai was surprised as Kirara came leaping at him, forcing him downwards and causing him to release his hold on Kagome.

Miroku caught the girl safely as she rolled to the side. "Kagome-sama, are you alright?" he asked her before undoing the rope binding her arms.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered with relief.

"Grk!" Kirara had the youkai's bladed arm in her mouth, pinning him to the ground. In response, the youkai let another blade shoot out from his other arm. He tried driving it into Kirara, but she got out of the way just in time. The youkai flipped backwards onto his feet, looking up only to see Inuyasha ready for him.

"Yaarrgg!" Inuyasha swung Tessaiga down, the youkai blocking it by crisscrossing his armoured arms. They pushed away from one another, jumping back.

"This time you're done!" Inuyasha prepared for a Kaze no Kizu. The youkai however, had no intention of staying. As quickly as possible, he vanished into thin air, cursing as he left. "What?" Inuyasha scanned across the underbrush. "Where did he go?"

"It appears he's gone," Miroku reasoned as he and Kagome joined Inuyasha with Kirara.

"Coward," Inuyasha muttered under his breath. "A guy like that will come back – and when he does," he slid Tessaiga back into place with a 'click,' "I'll be ready."

"He probably will," Miroku agreed. "He must have known that Kagome-sama could go though the well. Thus he was waiting for her to come back to ambush her."

Kagome shifted around in her spot. "Oh, great..."

"Don't worry." Kagome looked up at Inuyasha's words. "I'll get him next time for sure."

She smiled at his gesture. "Thanks, Inuyasha."

He turned his head away. "Yeah, sure..."

"Let's be getting back to the others," Miroku suggested, beginning to head for the village.

- - -

"Sango, what are you doing?" Shippo had walked in on Sango changing into he taiji-ya clothes. Despite what happened with Miroku earlier, Sango decided she would go off to help fight the youkai.

"Sorry, Shippo, but I want to go join the others."

"But you shouldn't! What about what Miroku said?" the young kitsune pleaded with her.

"I know what Houshi-sama said," she replied, tying up her hair. "But I just can't sit around when I know Kagome-chan is in trouble." Sango picked up Hiraikotsu and walked towards the door.

"But Sango – ah!" Shippo stopped when he walked outside and saw Sango standing just outside the doorway. She was watching someone else leaning against the wooden beam.

"Hey, there!" The mystery man lifted one of his folded arms up as a casual greeting.

Sango however didn't find this person's outward appearance convincing. She frowned as she said, "You're a youkai."

He straightened up. "Very observant," he smiled in a friendly manner. This youkai seemed similar to the one that had attacked Kagome, except that his clothes consisted of orange and blues, and his hair was considerably shorter. "You can call me Kusari."

Sango's expression didn't change. "Are you the one my friends were after?"

"Hm?" the youkai named Kusari looked positively puzzled. "Your friends? I don't think so. You're the only one I've come across lately." He started to move closer towards Sango. She got into a defensive stance.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"What do I want?" he echoed innocently. "Hmm..." he gazed upwards as if he were thinking. "Well..." he looked back down at Sango. "Can I have you?"

Sango didn't know whether to be upset or dumbstruck. "No!" she shouted in protest.

"Mmm..." Kusari made a whiny sort of tone. "Then I guess..." he leapt back suddenly, throwing his left arm out in front "... I'll have to take you!" An iron chain seemingly flew out from under his sleeve, headed in Sango's direction.

She held Hiraikotsu before her, blocking the assault, the chain ricocheting off into another direction.

"Ouh, a feisty one!" he cheered. Kusari furrowed his eyebrows. "How about this then?" He brought his chain back down, wrapping it around Hiraikotsu, tugging it slightly away from Sango. "And now..." A new chain erupted from Kusari's other arm, this time binding around Sango's waist. He reeled in both chains, drawing Hiraikotsu and Sango towards himself.

"Sango!" Shippo cried out in panic.

The taiji-ya pushed Hiraikoutsu out of her way, revealing the blade hidden in her clothing's forearm. She swung at Kusari, but he yanked her away just before she made contact, unraveling the chain she was caught in.

"Oh, close one!" he said playfully. Kusari seemed thoughtful. "Let's try..." He directed his left-hand chain at Sango again, who was still on the ground.

CLANG!

"What?" Kusari blinked as he saw an arrow collide with his chain, interrupting its course. He looked round to see Kaede, bow in hand. "Oh, a decrepit Miko."

"Watch who you call decrepit," Kaede retorted. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Oh, nothing you have to worry your feeble mind about," Kusari shrugged.

"Sango!" Shippo scampered over to Sango. "Sango, are you alright?"

"Ergh..." Sango sat up carefully. As much as she hated to admit it, her scrapes from before her encounter with Kusari were beginning to feel sore.

"Hey, get away from her!" Kusari sent a chain whizzing at Shippo, who squeaked in horror. Quickly, Sango drew her katana out to intercept it. "Hm, you're just full of surprises. Sango, is it? Yep, you'd make a wonderful bride!" he grinned carelessly.

"Like I'd ever marry you!" Sango grunted, pulling back on her sword.

"Oh, you will," he smirked. "After all, it's either that or death. Personally, I'd like to get to know you a bit better." He wrenched the katana out of Sango's grasp, swinging his chain across to hit Kaede bluntly, off to the side. Wasting no more time, he let his other chain go after Sango, coiling around her neck.

"Erk!" Sango brought her hands up, trying to prevent the from closing around her.

"Sango!" Shippo wanted to help his friend, but he wasn't sure how.

"Ah, ah, ah..." Kusari advised him. "Don't do anything you'll regret, or I'll crush her throat."

Frustrated, Shippo exclaimed, "Let her go!"

"Now why would I want to go and do a thing like that," Kusari raised a perplexed eyebrow at Shippo, "when it took so much time to catch her?" He began reeling Sango in, her body being dragged across the ground.

"Mumph!" Shippo winced as he watched, feeling so utterly helpless right now. Kaede sat up to see Sango being hauled over the youkai's shoulder.

"Well, I've got to be going!" he saluted them. "Later!" And he left with a cloud of dust billowing upwards as he bounded off.

"Ah... ah..." Shippo dropped onto the ground, Kaede looking onwards.

The sound of hurried footsteps approaching broke Shippo and Kaede out of their reveries. Inuyasha and the others were rushing up to them, worry on their faces.

"What happened here?" Miroku questioned them as he examined the surroundings. "We felt another youkai around, so –"

"He took her!" Shippo blurted out.

"What?" they stared at Shippo's small figure.

He looked up at them, his face stern. "He took Sango!"

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Me: And that's the end of the first chapter! Ja ne!


	2. Chapter 2

Me: Let it be known that the second chapter is here! (Lol!) Thank you to my wonderfully dedicated reviewers!

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

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Chapter 2

The others took a moment to digest what Shippo had just told them. It was only a few moments ago that they were dealing with a youkai after Kagome, yet at the same time another one had gone after Sango.

Inuyasha decided to be the first one to speak. "What do you mean he took her? Who?"

"This youkai named Kusari," Shippo answered. "He had these chains that could come out of his arms and he used them to take Sango away. She couldn't properly defend herself because of her injuries."

"No, this is my fault," Miroku said begrudgingly. "I told her to stay here instead of going with us. If she had come she probably wouldn't have been taken." He clenched his fist.

"If we go after them now we could catch up to them," Inuyasha interjected. He turned around. "Hey, Kagome..."

Kagome was tending to Kaede when Shippo had announced his news. She turned ashen-faced as soon as it reached her ears.

"We're going to go after them, alright?" Inuyasha continued. "Are you coming?"

Kagome got up slowly. Swiftly, she whirled round at Inuyasha, determination etched into her face. "Yes."

- - -

The group was soaring through the air, Kagome and Shippo riding Kirara, while Miroku had enlisted Hachi's assistance.

"Thank you for your help, Hachi," Miroku told his friend.

"Anytime, Miroku-dana," Hachi bellowed in his low voice.

Shippo gazed over Kirara's head down below. "If anyone can find Sango, it'd be Kirara."

"Mm..." Kagome nodded, though she appeared to be lost in thought.

Miroku noticed this. "Kagome-sama," he tried attracting her attention.

"Eh?" Kagome broke from her thoughts and looked over at Miroku.

"Are you alright?"

"Um... yes, I'm fine."

To try and get her to divulge her thoughts, he asked her, "Are you worried about Sango?"

Kagome stared back at Miroku, unsure of what to say. Of course she was worried. Those were her first thoughts. Those thoughts however, lead to other feelings... of doubt. She still cared deeply for Sango now, yet she was beginning to think that... maybe it was all a mistake. Maybe she really should have stuck with Inuyasha after all, despite whatever feelings he had for Kikyo. It might have worked out... or maybe not. All among them there were lingering feelings, and Kagome wasn't sure what to believe. Sango's earlier reluctance a couple of days ago was causing Kagome to contemplate over the whole situation. Maybe everything really was better before... or maybe she was just over-thinking everything.

Kagome's answer to Miroku's question was ambiguous. "I want to get there soon."

- - -

"Ungh..." Sango slowly opened her eyes, having been unconscious on the way to wherever Kusari had taken her. Around her neck and trailing down to the floor at a loose end was a chain, presumably the same one Kusari had used to abduct her with.

She realized that she was standing limply against the wall of a rather large room, and vaguely wondered why. She answered this herself as she tried to move. Sango found that her wrists were bound by shackles attached to the wall.

"So you're awake."

"Huh?" Sango looked to her right to see two other girls in the same predicament she was in some distance away. They appeared to be regular civilian girls.

"What's your name?" the girl who had spoken before asked her.

"Uh – I'm Sango."

She nodded. "My name's Rie – and this is Kokoro," she motioned at the other girl.

"We saw him bring you in," Kokoro responded. "So I guess he chose you to be his wife."

"What?" Sango's restraints clinked as she moved.

"You must be," Rie retorted, "since that's why we're here."

"You mean you were captured as his women too?" Sango asked them.

"No, we were caught by two of the other youkai," Kokoro responded sadly.

"Other youkai?"

"They're called the Metal Brothers," Rie explained. "There are four of them to be exact, each one having a different weapon or ability that has to do with metal."

"So the one that caught me... uses chains," Sango figured.

"That's correct," Rie agreed.

"Then what about the others?"

"The youngest of the group is Renkin – he can shape metal into whatever he desires," Kokoro told the taiji-ya. "He's the one who found me."

"Then there's Magu, who can pick up metal without physically touching it," Rie added. "He's the second youngest."

"And the one who caught you," Sango assumed, to which Rie nodded. "So Kusari is..."

"The second oldest," Rie finished. "The oldest of the brothers would be –" but Rie was interrupted by a knocking at the door.

"Hello!" someone on the other side said in a singsong voice. The door slid open to reveal none other that Kusari, grinning broadly. "Oh, Sango-chan! Up and at 'em I see!"

"I'll be up and at _you_ once I get out of these chains!" Sango said heatedly. "And don't call me 'Sango-chan'!"

"Heh, heh!" Kusari continued to smile casually. "Well don't expect to get out of those by yourself – my chains are quite strong. Plus, I like 'Sango-chan'."

"Kusari, what are you doing?" came a deeper voice from behind. Another youkai had walked in behind Kusari, a youkai slightly taller than him.

"Ah, Yaiba onii-san!" Kusari brightened.

'Onii-san?" Sango thought in her mind. 'So he's the oldest...'

"I was just talking with my future wife!" he chattered on. "It's too bad yours got away, otherwise we all could have been married at the same time."

"Humph..." the youkai named Yaiba leaned against the wall, folding his arms. "I would have gotten her if it wasn't for those interfering nuisances."

"Can you at least tell me what she looked like?" Kusari requested of his older brother with interest.

"Hm..." Yaiba thought back. "Well... she had these round, dark eyes... raven-coloured hair that went down about halfway her back..."

Sango inwardly groaned. Like she wanted to her some brute talk about some girl he wanted to make off with.

"I've never seen clothes like hers before though," Yaiba continued. "It was this green and white thing with this short kind of kimono."

'What?' At this, Sango couldn't help but take a mild interest in Yaiba's story.

"Did you happen to catch her name?" Kusari wanted to know.

"Mmm..." Yaiba tried to recall what those others had called her. "I think the Houshi called her 'Kagome' or something like that..."

This ultimately confirmed Sango's suspicions about the girl Yaiba was talking about.

"You stay away from her!" she shouted suddenly, the others in the room staring at her in surprise.

"Hm?" Kusari blinked. "Sango-chan, you know this 'Kagome' Yaiba found?"

"Yes, I do!" she retorted. "And those 'nuisances' as you called them happen to be my friends."

"Humph." Yaiba stood up. "No doubt they'll be searching for her then," he told Kusari. "Let's go and tell the others."

"Aw..." Kudari moped. "Well I guess I'll see you later, Sango-chan." He waved back at her. "And who knows... maybe Yaiba will convince your friend to stay with us."

"I doubt it," Sango replied darkly.

Kusari simply grinned at her in his usual way, sliding the door shut behind him.

- - -

The residence of the Metal Brothers was actually quite extravagant. It was rather large like a palace, with patches of greenery here and there around the building. Inside one of its many rooms, two of the residents were causing quite a ruckus.

"Ahhhhhh! Magu, let go!" The youngest of the Metal Brothers was being swung around the room, gripping onto his sword for dear life.

"Give me back that sword!" Magu swung his arms about, having taken control of the weapon in his brother Renkin's hands.

"But I'm going to fix it!" Renkin argued as he landed back on the ground.

"Forget it!" Magu shot back. "Every time you try to fix something, it just ends up in worse shape than before!"

"That's not true!" Renkin cried. "I just use a little innovation!"

"Renkin, swords aren't supposed to look like clubs!" Magu drew one such example of what Renkin did to one of his swords from the side of the room. He held up what looked like a blob of metal on a handle. "Give me that sword – I'll fix it myself."

"But I want to do it!" Renkin then proceeded to shape the katana by placing his hand on it. Right when it started to glow though, Magu yanked on it, dragging Renkin though the air."

"Let go!"

"No!"

It was at this particular moment that Yaiba and Kusari walked into the room, ducking as Renkin whizzed above their heads.

"What are you two doing!?" Yaiba bellowed at his brothers.

Hanging from the air by the katana, Renkin answered, "Magu's trying to take my sword away!"

"_My_ sword, you mean," Magu snapped at him.

"Enough, we don't have time for this," Yaiba told the two.

"We're expecting company!" Kusari beamed.

"What?" Magu let Renkin down abruptly, his brother falling with an "Augh!" to the floor. Completely ignoring that, Magu inquired, "What company?"

"The girl Yaiba onii-san wanted and her companions. They're apparently buds with the girl I brought," Kusari said as he jutted a thumb behind him.

"When they find the other girls they'll probably want to take them back to their village," Yaiba expanded on the situation.

Renkin's eyes widened. "What? Not Kokoro-chan!"

"Humph." Magu crossed his arms. "They can take that Rie back if they want. She's so temperamental. Even when I first met her she was beating some guy over the head. I don't know why I bothered bringing her here."

"Because you liiiike her," Renkin said teasingly, to which Magu bopped him on the head. "Ow!"

"Shut up!"

"In any case," Yaiba went on, "we should be ready for when they arrive."

"Right!"

- - -

Kirara and Hachi landed outside the Metal Brothers' expansive abode with the others. After Miroku dismissed Hachi, they went up to the front of the home.

"So this is where they live," Miroku said as he glanced around.

Inuyasha sniffed. "Smells like it." He reached for the door when a chain came at him, grabbing his wrist. "Gh!"

They all looked up to see Kusari, sitting on a branch at the other end of the chain. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to knock before coming in?" He jerked Inuyasha to the side, using his chain like a ripcord.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped.

"It's him!" Shippo cried. "The youkai who took Sango!"

"Ah, the little kitsune," Kusari recognized him as. "Nice to see you again!"

"Where's Sango?" Miroku demanded.

"Oh, don't worry about her," Kusari said lightheartedly. "She's fine; can't say the same for you though."

"Uh-!" Miroku sidestepped out of the way of Yaiba's blade as he came down behind him. "You again!"

"The name's Yaiba," he smirked. His eyes shifted to Kagome. "Couldn't keep away from me, huh?"

Kagome straightened up. "Yeah, right!" she said indignantly. "I came here for Sango-chan!"

"Well you might as well stay here then." Yaiba reached for Kagome's hand.

"Get away from her!" Inuyasha ran up with Tessaiga in tow. He lifted Tessaiga up, only to have it pulled back. "What the - ?" Inuyasha looked back to see another youkai clad in green, holding his hand up at him. Apparently this guy was holding back Tessaiga somehow. Inuyasha tried pulling back, but the force was too strong. He decided to ram into the youkai with Tessaiga. "Yaarrrrgh!" Just before he made contact however, the youkai stopped him in his tracks.

"Humph. Did you seriously think that was going to work?" He sent Inuyasha back flying.

"Ouh, way to go Magu-pon!" Kusari cheered from above.

"Don't call me 'Magu-pon'!!" Magu shouted hotly at his brother.

"Come on." Yaiba tried pulling Kagome inside.

"No!" Kagome kicked him in the shins.

"OW! What the heck do you think you're doing!?" Yaiba rubbed his leg. "Huh?" Yaiba looked back to see Miroku swinging his staff down. He quickly blocked it with the blade from his arm.

"Kagome-sama!" Miroku instructed her. "Go and look for Sango!"

"Alright!" she nodded. Just as she turned though, Kusari swiftly coiled her up in his chains and yanked her backwards. "Ahh!"

"Sorry, that's not how this works!" Kusari called. "Whee!" He hopped off the branch he was on to haul Kagome up from off the ground. "There, this should do!" he said as he tied the other end around the tree trunk.

"Hey, let me down!" Kagome kicked at the air.

"Sure, after we get rid of your friends here. Huh?" Kusari leaped up as Kirara charged after him, landing on her back. "Whee! Free ride! Woah!" Kusari hung on as Kirara tried to buck him off. "Hey, this is fun! Ha ha ha!"

Magu watched this little escapade in front of him. 'No way he's older than me...'

"Gah!" Inuyasha sat up. "I'll show you, you little... Huh?" Inuyasha did a double take as he looked at Tessaiga. Attached to his sword was a bunch of different pieces of metal. "What the heck!?" Hearing stifled giggles behind him, Inuyasha whirled around to see the youngest of the Metal Brothers with several bits of metal in his hand.

"How do you like your new katana?" he chortled.

"What!?" Inuyasha loomed over him menacingly. "You..."

"Eep!" Renkin shot up and ran towards his brother. "Magu!" He hid behind him.

"Eh? What are you doing?"

"He looks angry!" Renkin squeaked.

"Quit being so wimpy and fight him!" Magu saw Inuyasha stomping towards them. He lifted his hands up and stole away Tessaiga from Inuyasha's hands. Pushing, he sent it back at him, jabbing the ends into the ground to pin Inuyasha underneath.

"Hey! What the heck!?" Inuyasha was relieved to find that the Tessaiga soon after went back into its smaller form. "Ah, Tessaiga..." he examined his horribly deformed sword. "Darn you... Arrrrggh! Sankontessou!"

"Ahh!" Renkin and Magu jumped out of the way before Inuyasha could slice them into pieces.

Magu used his powers to take the excess metal Renkin had, and threw them at Inuyasha as if they were darts. Inuyasha meanwhile, whipped out Tessaiga and swung at the incoming scrap metal, sending it flying... at Kagome.

"Ahh!" Kagome squeezed her eyes shut as the bits of metal zipped past her, somehow managing to miss her completely. Nevertheless, Kagome shouted, "Inuyasha, you idiot! Watch what you're doing!"

Yaiba and Miroku were still battling it out, each blow they made or blocked, resulting in a sharp 'clang!' Miroku swung and Yaiba leaped back, landing next to his brothers. To round it all off, Kirara finally managed to buck Kusari off, landing flat on his back in front of the rest of the Metal Brothers with an 'Ouf!'.

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kirara gathered around them, staring sternly at the four youkai brothers.

"Care to take us to wherever you've got Sango holed up now?" Inuyasha said scornfully.

"Why do you want to take them away?" Renkin whined rather childishly.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "_Them? _You mean you've got others here too?"

"How else are we supposed to get anyone to stay with us?" Yaiba retorted stoutly. "No woman wants to go off with a youkai somewhere – they get the idea that we want to torture them or something."

"Huh?" Inuyasha got somewhat confused.

"Wait," Miroku started, "you mean you actually want to have serious relationships with these women?"

Kusari shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? Not all youkai are brutes like this guy," he pointed at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha's state of mind changed completely. "What!?"

"He kind of has a point," Shippo muttered. "Ow!" Inuyasha smacked him on the head.

"If you really want to have a true relationship, the other has to be willing," Miroku pointed out to the brothers. "It shouldn't matter to them that you're youkai. Just take things slow and easy."

"Look who's talking," Shippo continued to murmur his remarks. Kirara growled to show some sort of agreement with the kitsune.

Yaiba frowned. "So... if I take it easy with that girl, she should start to like me?" He was talking about Kagome of course, who was in the process of squirming around in her metal bindings and wondering what the heck was taking the others so long to get her down.

"Oh, no; not Kagome-sama," Miroku shook his head. "She's kind of already spoken for you see."

Yaiba's face fell at that. "What? Don't tell me it's this lousy hanyou here."

Inuyasha fumed. "You know, I'm getting really tired of people insulting me!"

"No – not anymore anyways," Miroku replied casually. "It's actually... Sango."

At this, all four of the Metal Brothers' jaws dropped. "WHAT!?"

"Sango-chan!?" Kusari lamented. "_My _Sango-chan?"

"Kagome-sama's Sango-chan," Miroku corrected him.

"Miroku, why are you telling them all this?" Inuyasha inquired in agitation.

"Because it's the truth," Miroku responded matter-of-factly.

Yaiba and Kusari were sitting on the ground, looking utterly shocked and desolate.

"Oh, cheer up!" Miroku encouraged them. "There's much fun to be had here."

"Huh?" the brothers just stared at the monk confusedly. Realizing this, Miroku bent down and whispered something to them. The expressions on their faces altered slightly afterwards. "Are you sure?"

"Mm!" Miroku nodded brightly. "Show us where Sango is and you'll see."

Agreeing to find out if what Miroku proposed was true, they went over to where Kagome was to let her down.

"Eh?" Kagome looked round at them as her feet touched the ground. "What's going on?"

"The brothers have agreed to take us to where Sango is," Miroku informed her.

"What? Why?"

"The brothers have learned the error of their ways and are going to take a more proper approach with women," Miroku said in a proclaiming fashion.

Kagome didn't believe this explanation to be entirely true, but at least they were getting what they came here for. Thusly, Yaiba led the way for the others to the room where the brothers' captive women were.

"They're in this room," he told them.

Kagome stood in front of the door and knocked on it. "Sango-chan?"

Inside, Sango lifted her head up and gazed at the door. "Kagome-chan?" she responded slightly unsurely.

Hearing the taiji-ya's familiar voice, Kagome's face lit up considerably. "Sango-chan!" She reached for the door to open it, but found that it was somehow stuck. "What?"

"Oh, it gets like that sometimes," Kusari piped up as he looked around the others. "Let me just..."

"Inuyasha," Kagome called for the hanyou. "Can you come over here?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha wasn't sure what Kagome had in mind, but he did as she requested anyways.

Kagome positioned him to stand in front of the door. When she was satisfied with where he was, she drew in a deep breath, and... "Osuawari! Osuwari! Osuwari!"

"Argh! Augh! Arh!" Inuyasha slammed face-first into the door, smashing it open with bits of wood and dust flying everywhere.

On the other side of the doorway, Sango and the others were startled when all they saw was debris and dirt billowing upwards.

"Hey!" Magu shouted in protest. "Do you usually come over and wreak other people's homes whenever you please?"

Kagome wasn't paying any attention however, as she hopped over Inuyasha into the room. Not taking a second glance, she rushed up to Sango and flung her arms around her. "Sango-chan! I'm so glad you're okay."

"Gr..." Inuyasha gingerly looked up from the floor. "Kagome! Couldn't you have waited for Kusari to open the door?"

"Sometimes love impairs our better judgment," Miroku said in a dream-like tone. "So," Miroku glanced over at the Metal Brothers, "what do you think?" The fact that Yaiba and Kusari wouldn't stop staring at the two girls made Miroku content in the fact that he probably knew what their answer would have been.

The other two girls, Rie and Kokoro, gawked at the sight of Kagome nuzzling her face against Sango's. Never before had they seen behavior like this. They caught Sango's eye, who seemed to be rather flustered at the fact that everyone else was watching them.

Magu and Renkin drew the attention away from them as they went and unlocked the manacles around Rie and Kokoro's wrists.

"What are you up to?" Rie frowned at Magu.

Magu gathered up his thoughts. "I figured... this wasn't the way to treat you properly. If I really want you to be my wife, then I should... be nicer..." he glanced to the side.

"Huh?" Rie took another look at Magu. "Are you saying... you like me or something?"

Magu turned to face her, his brows furrowed. "Why else would I bring you here?"

Rie blinked at him. Then she broke into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Magu stipulated.

"Nothing," Rie answered as she straightened up. "I guess if you want, I'll stay a little while longer."

"Really?"

"Sure, but only a little while. I still have a family to go home to you know."

"Right, I understand."

Content with each other, Magu and Rie looked beside them at Renkin and Kokoro, having made a similar success. Renkin was blushing as Kokoro smiled at him.

Kusari walked up to Kagome and Sango. "I guess I have to undo yours too." He obligingly removed Sango's shackles from around her wrists. She gratefully thanked him and rubbed her wrists. Kusari nodded. "I suppose our love is a forbidden one," Kusari said with exaggeration in his voice. "But remember this, Sango-chan – I will always be here in case you change your mind."

"Uh... sure..." Sango lifted up the remaining chain at her neck. "Do you think you could take this off too?"

"Oh..." Kusari examined the chain. "Yeah, about that... right now... it doesn't."

There was a brief moment of silence. "WHAT!?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Me: Well, there goes the second chapter! Ja ne!


	3. Chapter 3

Me: Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated! I finally figured out what to write next as you can see. Plus, school has been a curse.

Honestly, I had this weird KagSan dream a while ago that I felt was some kind of sign to get back to writing this fic. As a special bonus, I'll tell you about it at the end of the chapter!

And Naru the Miko, don't worry. There's a reason the title of this fic is called "Closer." Heh, heh.

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 3

Kusari didn't seem fazed by the others' outburst.

"What do you mean – ah!" Sango had taken a step forward to confront Kusari, but found that the chain wouldn't allow her to move; which was weird, seeing as how the end of it wasn't attached to anything. She tugged on it, but it wouldn't budge. "What's wrong with this chain? It won't move!"

"Huh?" Inuyasha was unconvinced. He went to test it out himself. "What are you – " but when he pulled on the chain himself, he found that it indeed wouldn't move. "Uh – what's with this thing? Urgh!" He pulled on it harder, but he still was only able to drag it across the ground about a centimeter away from its original spot.

"You can't pick it up," Kusari said simply. "It –" he stopped when he and the others saw that Kagome had taken it upon herself to lift the chain up off the ground. What was surprising was that she had actually managed to do it, and with amazing ease.

"Uh…" Kagome was suddenly reminded of the time she was able to remove Tessaiga from Inuyasha's father's grave. "Um…" she looked to the others for some kind of explanation.

"Kagome-sama," Miroku spoke with awe, "how were you able to do that?"

"I don't know." Kagome gazed down at the length of metal in her hand.

"Of course she was able to do it." Everyone looked round at Kusari. "After all, isn't she the one who's supposedly in love with Sango-chan?"

The expression of, "Huh?" was plastered on everyone's faces.

Miroku tried getting his head around this. "So, you're saying that Kagome-sama was able to pick it up because she has feelings for Sango?"

Kusari nodded his head. "Of course, the feeling has to be mutual."

Kagome and Sango stared at one another, not sure what to say in response to this.

"Okay…" Miroku turned back to the previous subject. "But why can't you remove the chain?"

The youkai shrugged. "I didn't plan for it to come off."

"Didn't plan for it?" Sango repeated aghast. "You mean you expected me to wear this thing forever?"

"Why not? I thought it might grow on you; and besides, it would have helped to keep you in check." After seeing Sango's growing desire to smack him one, he quickly added, "But I was planning on coming up for a way to take it off eventually!"

"Why don't you just do that now?" Magu inquired.

"Ah, these things take time," Kusari stated plainly. "I could start now, but it wouldn't be ready until later. So until then," he smiled brightly, "you should probably try and go about your business as usual." He began pushing the others out the room to go outside.

"Ah – wait a second!" Sango protested.

"You mean in order for Sango-chan to go somewhere, I have to be there to carry her chain?" Kagome couldn't believe this was happening.

"Bin-go!" Kusari sounded. "Don't worry – as soon as I have the solution to this little problem, I'll come and sort it out straight away!" With a last push, he shoved the group out onto the verandah, his brothers, Rie, and Kokoro, right behind him. "See you later!" After the others had said their goodbyes, the group was now left outside, staring at a closed door.

"I guess there's nothing for it then," Inuyasha decided. He turned around and began walking. "Let's go back now."

Kagome sighed. She glanced beside her at Sango, who seemed to be absorbed in her own thoughts. "Come on, Sango-chan," she told her before she started leading her by the chain.

Miroku followed behind the others, watching Kagome and Sango carefully. Shippo jumped up onto his shoulder.

"What is it?" he asked, observing Miroku's expression.

"Hm? Oh, nothing…"

Shippo narrowed his eyes slightly. "It's never nothing with you."

"Well, we may just see soon enough," Miroku smiled.

"Huh?"

- - -

When they got back to the village, Kaede was, to say the least, surprised when she saw Kagome leading Sango back with her – by some sort of leash… Needless to say, an explanation was in order for the Miko. She didn't seem very trusting of letting a youkai like Kusari take care of the matter, but neither did she say anything about trying to solve the problem herself.

Kagome let out a heavy sigh. "So what now…?"

"I suppose we should go about as usual like Kusari suggested," Miroku responded.

"That'll be a bit difficult," Kagome mused. She glanced up at Sango's face.

The taiji-ya made to go inside. "Well, I think I should go change – ah!" She was suddenly jerked back. Sango looked round to see that Kagome had dropped the end of the chain in her hand.

"Wait, I have a better idea." Kagome ran past Sango into Kaede's home. When she came back out, she was carrying Sango's clothes and some towels in her arms. She scooped up the chain with her spare hand. "Come on!" Sango meanwhile had no choice but to follow her to wherever it was the girl was going.

"Hmm…" Judging by what Kagome was holding, Miroku had a pretty good idea of what it was she had in mind. "You know, I think I'll – "

Inuyasha whipped Tessaiga out in front of him. "You think you'll what?" he said in a threatening tone.

"Uh… wait here until they get back," Miroku finished hesitantly.

Shippo shook his head. "Some things will never change…"

- - -

Kagome hung the towels and Sango's clothes over a nearby tree branch. "I thought you might want to clean up after what you've been through."

"Oh…" Sango didn't seem to have thought of this. "Um… yes… thank you…"

Kagome smiled. "It's nothing. I just thought it would be nice." She got undressed and took one of the towels off the branch for herself. She waited for Sango to do the same until the two of them could go into the onsen together. Kagome left the end of the chain at the edge of the onsen, relaxing as she slipped into the warm waters. "Ah… feels good…"

"Mm…" Sango nodded in response.

The atmosphere felt somewhat tense between the two. Sure, they've bathed together before, but that was when they were simply friends. Now that they were something… more… it felt slightly awkward for them to be around each other.

Kagome couldn't help it though, as her eyes fell onto one of the injuries on Sango's arm. She reached her hand out tentatively from the water, grazing it gently with her fingertips. "Your cuts don't sting or anything, do they?"

"They're long fine by now," Sango assured her, shifting her eyes slightly to watch the other girl.

"Well that's good." Kagome turned her attention back to the steamy waters. "I'm glad you're alright, after everything that's happened." She bobbed her legs in the water absentmindedly, trying to find something to do.

"You worry too much." Sango scooped up some of the onsen's water in her hands and rubbed it against her face.

Kagome tilted her head. "But it's only natural, right?" She paused before adding, "Because I care about you so much."

Sango abruptly stopped what she was doing to stare out blankly across the steaming water.

"I bet it's the same for you." Kagome smiled as she said this.

Sango felt her face turn red. Whether it was from the hot water or embarrassment, she wasn't sure (yeah, right…), but she bowed her head and tugged at the chain around her neck uncomfortably. Oh, the chain… "I hope this doesn't rust…" she murmured in an attempt to distract herself.

Kagome must have heard her though, as Sango saw a hand slide underneath the chain at her neck. She looked up and saw Kagome with a docile expression on her face. Her heartbeat sped up as she soon realized that Kagome was pulling the two of them closer together. She squeezed her eyes shut; having a feeling she knew what was coming. She waited… waited for Kagome's familiar scent… waited for her soft touch… but it never came. Instead something splashed against the side of her face. Bewildered, Sango opened her eyes and saw Kagome laughing away.

"Hahaha!" She looked up at Sango, trying to suppress her giggles. "You thought I was going to kiss you, didn't you?" Kagome broke into another fit of laughter.

It took Sango a couple of seconds before she retorted, "Kagome-chan!"

Kagome splashed Sango again to continue her amusement.

"Hey, Kagome-chan!" Sango protested. "Stop that!"

"Haha! Try and stop me!" Kagome giggled back. She glanced at Sango who seemed to have a cross expression on her face, though she found it rather comical. Amidst the splatter of water, Kagome thought, 'I really hope this works out…'

- - -

Inuyasha swung Tessaiga around, examining it from every angle. "Drat… looks like I'll have to get Totosai to fix Tessaiga." The bits of metal Renkin had melded on refused to come off with brute force, too much of it being too risky as it could damage Tessaiga even more so.

"And when are you going to do that?" Miroku proposed.

"I suppose the sooner the better, in case we get into any fights soon. With Sango handicapped the way she is, we'll especially have to be ready."

"Hm… you may be right about that…" Miroku brightened up. "Well, guess you'd better be on your way then!"

"Hrm?" Inuyasha raised a suspicious eyebrow at the monk. "You'd better come too." He grabbed Miroku by the front of his robes and proceeded to drag him away. "Shippo, tell Kagome and Sango where we've gone."

"Uh – right."

"What?" Miroku raised his voice. "No, Inuyasha, why do I have to go with you?"

"You know perfectly well why."

"No I don't." Miroku wriggled around to try and break free of Inuyasha's grasp.

"Miroku, stop that!" The two therefore were engaged in a struggle of sorts. Inuyasha trying to haul away Miroku while the monk strived to be released from his grasp on the ground.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hrn?" At the call of his name, Inuyasha looked up, Miroku following. Kagome and Sango had just returned from the onsen, and were now staring at the two with perplexed expressions.

"What are you doing?" Kagome inquired.

With a grunt, Inuyasha lifted Tessaiga before him. "I'm going to get Totosai to mend Tessaiga for me."

"Oh…" Kagome glanced down at Miroku. "You're going too, Miroku-sama?"

Taking a quick glimpse of Inuyasha's threatening look, Miroku hastily answered, "Apparently so."

"Oh… well in that case…" Kagome dropped the end of Sango's chain to run into Kaede's home. "Wait here just a moment." When she came back out, the girl was carrying two bentos. "Take these in case you get hungry."

"Ah, thanks." Inuyasha took the boxes from her.

"That's very considerate of you, Kagome-sama."

"Well I made one for everybody. You might as well take it with you."

Inuyasha turned to leave. "Alright; we'll be back as soon as we can."

"Take care of yourselves," Miroku said as he got up, with an intended underlying meaning behind his message.

"We'll be fine," Kagome replied. Everyone said their farewells, Inuyasha and Miroku heading for Totosai's, while the others stayed behind.

"Hey, Kagome?" Shippo tugged on Kagome's sock.

"Yes?" She bent down to be at eye-level with the kitsune.

"Well, you said you made a bento for everyone, right?"

Kagome smiled. "Do you want to eat it now?"

"If that's alright…" Shippo said sheepishly.

"Of course it is!" Kagome straightened up. "What do you think?" she asked Sango. "Want some of my bento?"

"Uh… sure…"

Kagome smirked and pulled the damp towel over Sango's head downwards. "You're going to eat the one I made especially for you."

The way Kagome said that, Sango wasn't sure whether to be flattered or wary of eating her food.

- - -

"Inuyasha," Miroku said as he peered back at the village over his shoulder, "I didn't know you could be so soft."

"Huh?" Inuyasha retorted haughtily. "What are you talking about?"

"About basically leaving Kagome-sama and Sango in the village by themselves."

"What about it?"

"Well, it gives them some _alone_ time," Miroku replied slyly.

Inuyasha snorted. "This is exactly why I decided to bring you along."

"I protest!" Miroku retorted indignantly. "As curious as I am, I would have been able to resist my natural urges."

"Your 'urges' as you call them aren't all that natural."

Miroku huffed and simply decided to leave the conversation at that. He wasn't all that off of what Inuyasha's intentions were however. As they walked, Inuyasha thought about what exactly Kagome and Sango would do with their time together.

- - -

Sango waited out on the verandah with Shippo and Kirara for Kagome. Kagome thought they could all sit outside to eat the bentos she made. She came back out carrying a rather large-looking bento with two smaller ones on top. Handing the smaller ones to Shippo and Kirara, Kagome unraveled the cloth around the larger box to revel an impressive layout of food which Sango gaped at.

"Kagome-chan… this is a lot…"

"Do you think so?" Kagome gave the bento the once-over. "I can share it with you if you like."

"What?" Sango was aghast. "All this was supposed to be for me?"

"Of course," Kagome said as though this were obvious. "I made it with all my love for you."

At this comment, Sango's face blushed crimson. She put a hand to her face. "I think I'm too embarrassed to eat now…"

"Oh, come on!" Kagome shoved an onigiri in Sango's face. "I made it, now you eat it."

Sango took the onigiri from Kagome's hands. "I didn't say I wouldn't eat it." With that, Sango bit into the onigiri's top.

Kagome leaned forward in anticipation. "How is it?"

Sango swallowed. "It's good."

Kagome smiled triumphantly. "Shippo-chan," she started, "do you want to drink – Shippo-chan?" Kagome looked around for the young kitsune. "Eh? Where did Shippo-chan go?"

"Kirara?" Sango's voice called. Kagome spun around to see that the feline youkai was also missing.

"Where did they go?" Kagome thought out loud. "Do you think we should go look for them?"

"Mmm… Well, Kirara's been off by herself before… If Shippo is with her it should be alright. Besides, they can't have gone very far off."

"Okay…" Kagome agreed with the taiji-ya and settled down. She picked up a set of chopsticks to begin eating from the bento as well.

As the two girls ate wondering where Shippo and Kirara went, they accidentally reached for the same piece of food.

"Oh, er… go ahead and take it, Kagome-chan."

"No, you – I made the bento for you after all."

"But you should be able to eat what you make as well."

"Well… seeing as how it's the last one, do you want to share it?"

"Um… sure, I suppose that's fine." Sango wondered just how Kagome was going to split this one little bit of food up. To her surprise, Kagome decided to bite off half of it, and held the rest out to Sango. For a second Sango hesitated, but seeing Kagome's eager face, she decided to just go with it.

Kagome smiled as she watched Sango eat from her chopsticks. "You're so nice, Sango-chan."

"Hm?" Sango looked at her as she ate.

Kagome however didn't respond to this. She simply continued to grin and enjoy the bento she made for the one she cherished the most.

- - -

Shippo and Kirara, as it turned out, went off to eat somewhere away from the two girls.

Shippo sighed, popping another wiener into his mouth. "Even I know when it's time to leave those two alone."

Kirara "mewed," nibbling her own bento.

Shippo gazed up through the branches of the tree they sat under, sunlight coming through like droplets. "I wonder how Inuyasha and Miroku are doing…"

- - -

"What did you do!?" Totosai couldn't help but weep at the former masterpiece of a sword he had once made. He scolded Inuyasha, "I keep fixing Tessaiga but all you do is keep wreaking it – haven't you learned to take care of it yet!?"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!" Inuyasha snapped back. "I had my back turned for one second and the next thing I know this youkai does this to Tessaiga!"

"A-ha! So you really should have been paying attention, but you weren't!"

"I was deflected in the midst of battle!"

Miroku finally took it upon himself to put a stop to this little spat. "Now, now – what's done is done. Right now, the important thing is that Tessaiga should be mended as soon as possible. We should get back before something comes up."

"Humph…" Totosai grunted. "If you plan to use Tessaiga to protect humans, you should keep it in good condition in that case."

"To-to-sai…" Inuyasha murmured warningly.

"I would think you would want to protect that girl – Kagome," Totosai retorted. "Where is the rest of your group anyways?" Totosai glanced around for them.

"Oh, they're waiting for us at the village by Goshinboku," Miroku told the sword maker. With a grin, he added, "Inuyasha thought it would be nice to let Kagome-sama and Sango stay by themselves with Shippo and Kirara."

"Hrm?" Totosai reached for his mallet. "What do you mean by that? Inuyasha actually took the time to be thoughtful?"

Inuyasha growled. "Grr… You - !"

"Actually…" Miroku got a questionable glint in his eye. "The fact of the matter is that -"

"Miroku!" Inuyasha interrupted him suddenly. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Totosai merely wants to know what's going on, Inuyasha," Miroku replied with his façade-like aura.

"He doesn't need to know!" Inuyasha spat. "Why do you keep telling everyone about that? I wouldn't be surprised if the next thing I know Naraku finds out!"

"I think that would most likely be due to his Saimyoushou, not I," Miroku stated matter-of-factly.

"Grr…"

Totosai decided to ignore the two and instead begin work on Tessaiga. 'An odd group they are,' he thought as he banged away.

- - -

'Um…' Kagome stared at her mathematics textbook, managing to draw only a blank. What a pain it was to miss so much school. Believing that she wasn't going to be solving this anytime soon, Kagome's mind began to wander.

Sango was sitting next to her right, as she wasn't able to go very far without Kagome. While Kagome was doing (or at least trying to do) her homework, Sango kept herself busy polishing Hiraikotsu. Kagome watched her with interest, whether it was her tending to Hiraikotsu, or Sango herself.

Feeling Kagome's gaze on her, Sango turned her head slightly to look at her.

"What is it?"

"Hm?" Kagome appeared to drift back to reality. "Oh, sorry; I just couldn't seem to concentrate on my homework."

"Is it that bad?" Sango crawled over towards Kagome and leaned over to look at her textbook. Her pleasant scent passed by Kagome's nose when she moved over, tickling her senses. Catching her breath, Kagome felt warm as her heart beat quickened. She watched Sango make an expression of bewilderment when she saw her textbook.

"What are - ?" Sango had to stop abruptly as Kagome leaned forward and kissed her earlobe. She jerked back and brought her hand over her ear, flustered eyes staring at Kagome. "Wha- what was…?"

"Sorry," Kagome apologized. "Did you… not like that?"

Sango's face was red. "I-It just surprised me; that's all."

Kagome smiled somewhat shyly at her. "Can you come over here?" Kagome set her books aside.

"Um…" Slowly, Sango moved closer to Kagome, feeling unsure of what was in store for her.

"Here." Kagome guided her to lay her head down in her lap. She softly ran her fingers through Sango's bangs without saying a word; simply letting the quiet air provide for ambience.

Sango tried to calm herself as her head rested against Kagome's warm body. Eventually the passing breeze helped to cool her down, taking the time to settle comfortably into Kagome's presence. As she closed her eyes, Kagome brushed her hand through Sango's bangs softly.

"Kagome-chan…" Sango finally murmured.

"Hm?"

"This is… nice."

Kagome smiled down kindly at her, happy.

- - -

'Clank!' went another piece of metal as Totosai pried it off Tessaiga. Inuyasha eyed it tiredly as it rolled off to the side.

He sighed from boredom. "This is taking so long…"

"Well what do you expect?" Totosai snapped. "All these bits of metal melded to Tessaiga – I have to be careful in removing each one and getting Tessaiga back to its former glory."

Inuyasha grunted.

"Anxious to get back are we, Inuyasha?" Miroku glanced at hanyou sitting across from him.

"That's not it," Inuyasha mumbled.

"Is it?" Miroku said in a light tone. "Well don't worry about Kagome-sama and Sango," he smirked. "I'm sure they're taking very good care of each other."

"You perverted Houshi!" Inuyasha barked angrily. "That's not what I'm concerned about!"

"Oh?" Miroku looked surprised. "Shippo and Kirara then? Worried they're being neglected by Kagome-sama and Sango while they –"

"THAT'S NOT IT!"

"Will you two quiet down!" Totosai clamoured. "I have to concentrate!"

Inuyasha sighed heavily to let out his pent-up frustration, slumping back against the wall. Miroku decided that was enough fun for now, so he put on a more somber demeanor.

"So what is it that's bothering you?"

Inuyasha's eyes softened as he stared at the floor. There was a bug there which looked like it was about to die. "I don't know… I just feel that there's something." Another insect came crawling into Inuyasha's view. It started moving towards the bug that Inuyasha had spotted earlier. When the crawling insect came close to the bug and touched it, the bug suddenly became livelier and moved. 'Huh?' Inuyasha blinked at the pair.

"HI-YO!!"

"Gyah!" Inuyasha jumped at the sudden noise. His eyes darted towards the cave entrance where he saw two familiar youkai.

"Kusari!?" Inuyasha growled.

"And Yaiba," Miroku added.

"What?" Totosai whirled around. "Two youkai?" he said in a panic.

"Oh, don't worry old man," Kusari waved his hand. "We're not here for you or anything. We were just passing by when we saw doggy-ears and the Houshi here."

"_Doggy-ears_?" Inuyasha snarled in a lengthened tone.

"What are you two doing here?" Miroku asked them.

"We were looking for you guys," Yaiba answered him. He glanced around the cavern. "Where's the rest of your group?"

"They're back at the village," Miroku replied simply. "Inuyasha and I just came here to get Tessaiga mended."

"Oh, you mean the katana Renkin played with?" Kusari said light-heartedly.

"More like mutilated," Inuyasha spat. "Why were you two looking for us anyway?"

"Hee hee," Kusari grinned broadly. "Because I've found the solution to Kagome and Sango-chan's chain problem."

"Have you?" Miroku seemed intrigued. "What is it?"

Kusari waved his finger. "Ah-ah-ah… It's a secret."

"Hmm…" Miroku became more engrossed in this 'secret solution' Kusari had.

"Well, since they're not here I guess we'll continue searching for them," Kusari said as he and Yaiba were about to depart.

Miroku got up. "Let me save you the trouble by leading you to them," he offered.

"Really?" Kusari grinned. "Thanks, Houshi!"

Sensing that there was some ulterior motive behind Miroku's proposition, Inuyasha butted in. "I'm coming too." He turned to Totosai. "I'll be back later to get Tessaiga."

"Fine, fine," he replied before going back to his work.

"Alright," Inuyasha looked at the others. "Let's go."

- - -

Everything was peaceful. Sango was resting comfortably in Kagome's lap, while the other girl enjoyed having her there so close to her. That's why it partly came as annoying when Kagome found that she had to break their little moment together. Something triggered a wavelength in Kagome's head which caused her to look up at the forest. Sango could tell.

Slowly opening her eyes, she voiced, "Kagome-chan?" Sango got up and looked at her with concern. "Kagome-chan, what's wrong?"

"Uh…" Kagome turned form the forest to Sango. "Mm… it's probably nothing, but…" She stood up decidedly. "Sango-chan, I have to go somewhere. I'll be back soon though, okay?" Before she got an answer, Kagome sprinted off.

"Kagome-chan! Kagome-chan, wait! Uh - !" Sango made to follow her, but she had forgotten about the chain around her neck. Cursing, she looked back in the direction Kagome had gone. 'Kagome-chan, don't get into any trouble.'

- - -

She ran through the forest. She recognized this presence. Why was this person here, though? Kagome didn't know why, and neither did she know why she wanted to meet up with this person. Somehow she felt she had to though. She ambled onwards on until she finally reached the clearing. There, standing in front of Goshinboku, was a person she knew all too well. Kagome caught her breath as she looked on. The other person there noticed her; though she probably already knew Kagome was on her way there. She turned around slowly to face her, long dark hair and white and red robes swirling around.

Kagome's guess was right. 'Kikyou…'

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Me: Ah-ha! What's going to happen next? Heh heh heh…

And now introducing: A KagSan Dream

Okay, I was watching "InuYasha" with my mom and sister. The Inu-tachi was walking along as usual when the screen focuses on Kagome and Sango. So they're just talking (I don't know what about) until Sango starts to get playful and grabs Kagome's hand. She spins around behind her (hair flowing effects and everything) and they decide to go somewhere together.

The scene changes, and now they're sitting together somewhere talking again. So they're talking, talking, and I'm watching, watching… when the screen begins to come up to their faces. I was like, 'Okay…' Then I thought, 'Wait a second… aren't their faces getting a little too close to each other?' Then, bam! They kiss, and it totally freaked me out. I looked around at my mom and sister to see their reactions, but they were somehow transparent-like and didn't seem to be paying attention to the show.

I looked back at the screen in shock, and now there was something going on about Kagome being kidnapped and Sango going to save her… then they got trapped in this room together by some crazy person who wanted to do experiments on them or something… it was just weird…

-End Dream-

It was really weird seeing KagSan stuff actually happen in the show. It's totally different form just reading and writing fanfics about it and stuff. What I also noticed in my dream was that Kagome seemed the more reluctant one of the pair. Hm… interesting.

Well, whatever! I hope you look forward to the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

Me: Hi, everyone! This is the last chapter of "Closer." Thanks for your reviewer support in helping me write this!

Disclaimer: "InuYasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter 4

The two girls who shared the same soul stood staring at one another.

"You…" Kikyou muttered.

Kagome straightened up at Kikyou's recognition of her. "Kikyou… what are you doing here?"

The Miko turned back around to look at Goshinboku. "I'm not sure. I felt like I had to come here for some unknown reason."

"An unknown reason?" Kagome echoed Kikyou's response.

Kikyou turned around fully to face Kagome. "Isn't he with you?"

"He?" Kagome blinked. Realizing that she must have meant 'him', she asked, "Are you looking for Inuyasha?"

Kikyou took a moment before replying, "Not in particular. I was simply wondering."

"Well, he's not here at the moment…" Kagome swayed nervously from side to side. "Do you…" she wondered if she should really ask, "Want to wait for him?"

Kikyou frowned slightly. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Eh?" Kagome knew she would have to explain herself. She wasn't too thrilled about it though. "Er… well… it's because… Inuyasha…" She gulped. "… still loves you."

The Miko's expression didn't change. Seeing this, Kagome continued.

"I just thought that if that was the case… shouldn't you work something out?"

Kikyou turned her head to the side. "It's too late for that."

"But…"

"I grow tired of talking about this," Kikyou pressed on. "I knew I shouldn't have come here." She turned to leave.

"Kikyou, wait!" Kagome called out to her. Of course though, it was no use in trying to change her mind. She could only watch Kikyou disappear into the forest, leaving her alone. 'Kikyou…'

- - -

Kagome tracked her way back to Kaede's, mind still set on Kikyou's appearance. If Inuyasha was there at the time, would he have wanted to try and talk to her? 'Most likely,' Kagome mused. 'Maybe I should have tried harder to stop her.' Before Kagome could dwell on the situation any longer, something up ahead of her caught her eye.

Sango was pulling on the end of her chain, trying her best to get the stupid thing to move. She seemed to be having a hard time, barely managing to even budge it.

"That… rotten… Kusari…" she strained as she pulled. "The next… time… I see him… he… is… so… dead! Ah-!" Sango's hands slipped on the chain, resulting in her falling flat on her back. "Unn…" She opened her eyes to see someone staring down at her.

"Sango-chan?" Kagome blinked.

"Ah! Kagome-chan!" Sango quickly got back on her feet. "Where did you go?"

"Oh, um…" Kagome glanced to the side. "No where in particular."

"Hm?" Sango leant forwards to look at Kagome. "Really?"

"Mm." Kagome nodded nervously.

Sango was still suspicious. She narrowed her eyes. "You sounded pretty sure of where you were going before."

Kagome faltered. "Sango-chan, if it was something important I would have told you."

"Hmm?" Sango straightened up.

Kagome could tell that Sango wasn't buying it. To change the subject, she asked, "So, where are Shippo and Kirara? They've been gone for quite a while now."

"Right behind you!" called the kitsune's voice.

The two girls looked around to indeed see the aforementioned youkai there. They also noticed that they were not alone.

"Inuyasha, Miroku-sama!" Kagome said with surprise. "What are you doing back so soon?"

Inuyasha jutted his thumb behind him. "These two were looking for you."

"Eh?" Kagome glanced behind him. "Ah! Kusari and Yaiba!"

Kusari waved with a wide grin. "Hi-ee!"

Yaiba put a hand up. "Hello."

Miroku came forward. "They've brought the solution to getting the chain off."

"Already?" It hadn't even been a whole day yet, so Sango was surprised Kusari found a solution so soon.

"Why?" Kusari looked thoughtful. "Did you want to keep it on longer?" He smirked. "Were you having _fun_…?"

Sango grimaced. "You perverted youkai!" She would have pounded him, but the chain around her neck prevented her from doing so.

"There, there." Kusari retorted airily. "Kagome-chan, you'd better keep an eye on your pet there," he commented, making Sango even more vexed with him.

Inuyasha folded his arms. "Kusari, I thought you were going to tell them how to get the chain off."

"Oh, yes yes!" Kusari pounded his fist in his palm. "Okay, Kagome-chan, over here." Kusari motioned for Kagome to follow them a little a ways from the group.

Slowly, Kagome followed, the others wondering what they were going to do. Inuyasha kept a close watch over them, while Miroku watched them eagerly to find out what Kusari's secret 'solution' was.

"Okay." Kusari stopped and turned to face her. "Mind you, this is only if you really want to take it off."

"I do," Kagome stated, placing her hands on her hips.

"If you say so," Kusari replied in a disheartened tone. "I mean, you could put also put it back on if you want-"

"Kusari!"

"Okay, okay!" The youkai pulled out a small vile from inside his robes and handed it to Kagome. "Okay, just sprinkle that on the chain around Sango-chan's neck."

"And it should come off?"

"Well…" A playful smile danced across Kusari's face. "You have to do one other thing."

"Hm? And what would that be?"

Looking from side-to-side, he motioned his hand as a sign for Kagome to come closer. She leaned in and Kusari cupped a hand around her ear, whispering something to her. Kagome's eyes widened.

The others jumped as Kagome suddenly exploded at Kusari, looking absolutely vivid.

"What did he say to her?" Shippo watched as Kagome stomped towards the retreating Kusari.

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "No idea."

"Hmm… I wonder if he'll tell us later," Miroku mused.

"Kusari!" Kagome shouted in shrill tone. "What did you just say!?"

"Aw, come on, Kagome-chan," Kusari sweated. "Don't be so testy."

"Why shouldn't I with a solution like that!?" she boomed. "Couldn't you have found some other way?"

"Huh? Well, I don't know… maybe… but this is more fun!" Kusari beamed. Kagome just continued to look even more dangerous. "Wow, you two really are made for each other. Uh – but what's done is done; I can't change it now, it's too late. Besides, it could have been worse…"

"What!?"

"Uh…"

Kagome closed her eyes and groaned. She glanced up and across at Sango, who blinked innocently at her. Kagome felt her face turn red as she looked away. 'Unn… why me…?' She glared at Kusari before leaving to go back to the others.

"Kagome, what happened?" Inuyasha asked as she came back.

Kagome however, didn't answer him. She merely huffed, picking up the chain and grabbing Sango's hand. "Come on, Sango-chan."

"Eh?" Sango blinked.

Kagome dragged Sango into Kaede's house, shutting the entrance. "No one had better come in!" she shouted through the doorway.

Kusari came waltzing up to the others. "Whew… aw… now we can't see," he pouted.

"Kusari," Yaiba bellowed apprehensively. "What did you say to Kagome?"

"Yes, I am also very interested in what it is you told Kagome-sama," Miroku joined in.

"Oh…" Kusari rubbed the back of his head and grinned with a wink. "Ah, well..."

Inuyasha frowned. "Kusari, what -"

The hanyou was interrupted by the sound of some sort of cry coming from inside the cabin. They all stared at the entranceway.

Yaiba was the first to speak. "Was that…"

"…Sango?" Miroku finished.

The next thing they all knew, Kagome came marching out of the cabin at a swift pace towards Kusari. The youkai's face faulted when he saw her. Kagome was blushing, but her expression was definitely one of irritation.

"Kusari!!" she yelled, quickening her pace.

"Uh oh." Kusari gulped. "Uh, Kagome-chan -"

"Don't 'Kagome-_chan_' me!" she shouted. "It didn't do anything, you liar!"

"It seemed to have done something," Miroku observed. His eyes lingered over to Kaede's home.

Curiously, he went over to the doorway and peeked inside. Pulling the curtain aside, he saw Sango sitting on the floor breathing heavily. Her face was flushed red and she was holding her hand up over her ear remarkably.

"Hm?" Miroku blinked. "What happened?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it'd be a good idea to ask." Shippo observed from behind. He and the others were watching Kagome chase Kusari around.

"Ahh!" Kusari squealed. "Kagome-chan, I'm sorry it didn't work! I'll think of something else to fix it!"

"No, you won't!" Kagome protested, still aiming to slap Kusari silly. "Kusari…! Eh?" She suddenly stopped in her tracks. Kagome was getting that familiar feeling again. "Inuyasha!" she called.

"Eh?" He looked up at her with his arms folded. "What is it?"

"I sense a Shikon shard nearby!"

"What? Where?" Inuyasha went on alert.

Kagome took a moment to pinpoint it. "Over there!" She pointed towards the forest.

"Okay, come on!" Inuyasha bent down so Kagome could climb on.

She nodded. "Alright, just let me get my bow and arrows." Kagome dashed into the cabin to find Sango picking up Hiraikotsu. "Sango-chan?"

The taiji-ya shouldered her weapon. "I'm coming too."

"Eh?" Kagome wasn't too sure if that was a good idea. With Sango still bound the way she was, it could pose some problems. She felt though that Sango probably wouldn't like it if she left her behind. Kagome nodded and gathered up the chain.

"The two of you?" Inuyasha noted as they came out. "Fine, but hurry up!"

"Kirara," Sango spoke to her companion, "stay here and keep an eye on these two." She motioned at Kusari and Yaiba.

"Aw, but we want to come too!" Kusari whined.

"It'd probably be better for you two to stay here," Miroku advised.

"But we can help!" Kusari insisted. "We can -"

"Kusari." Yaiba put a restraining hand on his brother's shoulder. "Alright, Houshi."

Miroku nodded.

"Aw…" Kusari drooped his head.

"I'll stay back too," Shippo offered.

Kagome glanced back as she clambered aboard Inuyasha. "Alright; thanks, Shippo-chan."

"Okay, let's go!" Inuyasha leaped off with Kagome and Sango, Miroku following close behind. "Kagome, is it this way?" They went deeper into the forest past a couple of trees.

"Yes, just keep going." Kagome gripped onto Inuyasha's robe when she remembered something. 'Kikyou… I wonder if I should tell him...' Kagome's eyes widened. 'Wait… is she –'

Inuyasha lifted his head up when his nose caught scent of something. 'This smell… is it possible?'

"Inuyasha, the youkai is up ahead!" Miroku announced. The bird youkai was flapping its enlarged wings, hovering ominously in the air.

They all stopped in the clearing, Inuyasha letting Kagome and Sango down. Everyone noted however that they weren't the first ones there. Inuyasha gasped, staring at the Miko he first met all those years ago.

She pulled back on her bow and aimed, letting the arrow fly. It pierced through the youkai, who let out a yelp of pain before disintegrating into nothingness. How easily it was defeated. The shard glittered as it fell from the air, landing in the Miko's outstretched palm.

"Kikyou…" Inuyasha breathed.

The Miko turned around to look at him. "Inuyasha."

"Kikyou," he walked towards her, "what are you doing here?"

"Funny." She tilted her head. "That's the same thing Kagome asked me."

"Huh? Uh…" Inuyasha glanced back at the aforementioned girl. He seemed to be searching for Kagome's approval in speaking with Kikyou.

Kagome was surprised when he looked at her. She leant in next to Sango and wrapped her arms around one of the taiji-ya's.

Inuyasha's face softened. He turned back to Kikyou. "Kikyou… can we… talk?"

She stared back at him with an unwavering expression. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head away and mumbled, "Fine…"

- - -

A pleasant breeze blew by, passing though Kagome's hair and tossing it up gently. She sighed as it came, cooling her face. She was sitting atop a hill alone with Sango, and from there they could see Kaede's village down below.

As much as she liked the serene atmosphere around her right now, Sango felt the need to say something. "Kagome-chan."

"Hm? Kagome glanced at her.

"Are you really okay with… Inuyasha speaking with Kikyou?"

Kagome stared at her, pausing. She gave a small smile and looked back down at the sight in front of her. "Yeah. I knew I liked Inuyasha, and that he still had feelings for Kikyou. I felt it would be fine just to be near him." She stared up into the sky. "And that's still fine. I don't need him to reciprocate my feelings anymore." She looked back down at Sango. "Because I have you." She smiled.

"Um… mm…" Sango tilted her head away a bit as her cheeks reddened.

Kagome grinned. "Isn't that good though? Now Inuyasha can be with Kikyou."

"I suppose…"

Kagome's expression became docile, but still with that small smile on her face. "I must admit though…" She brought her knees up to rest her head on them. "I wasn't sure how this thing between us would work out."

"Eh?" Sango looked up at her.

"It's stupid, but… I thought for a while that maybe you didn't want to go along with it; just because how you can be reluctant at times. But I figured later on that it was okay. When it happens, it'll happen."

Sango stared at her. She glanced down, her features subdued. "Kagome-chan…"

Kagome turned her head around slightly in response. To her surprise, Sango gently cupped her face in her hand, pulling her towards her. She leant in, kissing her softly. After settling in from the shock, Kagome slowly closed her eyes and embraced the moment.

When they parted, Sango whispered, "I'm sorry for making you feel that way, Kagome-chan."

Kagome smiled warmly. "It's okay. I'm just glad to have you by my side." After she said that, something heavy fell into her lap. "Eh?" Kagome looked down to find that the chain around Sango's neck had slipped off. "It… came off?" She lifted up the chain in her hands.

"But how?" Sango rubbed her neck.

"A-ha!" a voice from behind chimed in. The two girls spun around to see none other than Kusari. He was lying on his stomach, elbows propping his head up. He grinned at them. "It was pretty simple when you think about it. All you had to do was express your feelings for each other. Sweet, huh?"

"Maybe…" Kagome furrowed her brow. "But why didn't you tell us that before?"

"It couldn't happen if I told you," he said matter-of-factly. "You'd be too conscious of it to do it naturally. Anyways, after watching that sweet moment I don't think anything else could live up to it," he smiled.

"You were spying on us?" Sango's expression contorted into one of disapproval.

"Huh? Er… well…" Kusari jumped up onto his feet. "I'll see you two back at the village!" And with that he scampered off down the hill.

"Moh…" Sango frowned. "I don't know who's worse; Houshi-sama or Kusari."

Kagome giggled. "Me, neither." She gathered up the chain and examined it thoughtfully. 'Hmm… maybe I'll keep this…' A playful smirk danced across her face.

Sango raised a questioning eyebrow at Kagome. "Kagome-chan?"

The girl stood up with the chain in her arms. "I'm going back to Kaede-obaa-chan's. Are you coming, San-chan?"

Sango did a double take at the sound of the nickname Kagome had bestowed on her. She answered, "Um, I'm going to stay here a little while longer. I'll catch up with you."

"Alright," Kagome smiled at her. She turned around and skipped away down the hill, Sango hoping she wouldn't slip and end up falling down it instead.

She couldn't recall having ever seen Kagome skipping before. The only time she ever did that herself was so long ago, a time when she was really happy. She smiled, glad that Kagome was content with her feelings. The moment seemed a bit like déjà vu to Sango.

The last time this happened, Sango found herself questioning her feelings towards her best friend. This time around however, she knew how she felt; and she was thankful for it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Me: Aw… not exactly the ending I had in mind, but it'll do. Do any of you think Kikyou was OOC? I don't know… Well, that aside, I hope you all enjoyed it.

By the way, the fourth "InuYasha" movie is out in Japan now! Hahaha… why am I promoting that here? Oh, well. Happy holidays, everyone!


End file.
